Means for connecting a safety razor head and handle



June 5, 1956 P. H. BoRbEN 2,748,470

MEANS FOR CONNECTING A SAFETY RAZOR HEAD AND HANDLE Original Filed Feb. 15, 1950 INVENTOR PM); Al bone-1v MEANS FOR CONNECTING A SAFETY RAZOR HEAD AND HANDLE Philip H. Borden, Orange, Conm, assignor to Central Industrial Corporation, Memphis, Tenn., a corporation of Tennessee Application June-21, 1951, Serial No. 232,770, now Patent No. 2,710,447, dated June 14, 1955, whichis a division of applicationSerial No. 144,278, February 15, 1950. Divided and this application September 8, 1952, Serial No. 308,330

3 Claims. (Cl. 30-89) This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in safety razor equipment and particularly relates to a device for supporting razor blades adapted for use with means for automatically eifecting exchange of razor blades as desired.

This application is division of my copending application Serial No. 144,278, filed February 15, 1950, now abandoned in view of continuation application Serial No. 343,952, filed March 23, 1953, and of my copending application Serial'No. 232,770, filed June 21, 1951, now Patent No. 2,710,447, granted June 14, 1955. Application'Serial No. 232,770 is a division of application Serial No. 144,278.

This application relates to an improvement upon the invention disclosed in my copending application Serial No. 201,351, filed December 18, 1950, now Patent No. 2,708,310, granted May 17, 1955.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a razor blade supporting head and handle, including new and novel blade engaging means, and a new and novel arrangement by which the head is shiftably connected to the handle.

' A further object of the invention is to provide a razor blade-supporting head and a handle therefor with means for attaching the head to the handle for shift to selected positions of angularity relative to the longitudinal midline of the handle.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in such head and handle attachment for shift to selected positions, means for retaining the blade supporting head in selected position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a blade supporting head which is rockably attached to-a handle for head shift to and from opposite positions of angularity relativeto the handle; and

A further object of the invention is to generally improve the design, utility and efficiency of safety razors.-

The means by which the foregoing and other objects of this invention are accomplished and the manner. of their accomplishment will readily be understood from the following specification upon reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of the preferred form of razor blade-supporting head of the invention with an upper fragment of the handle attached thereto, shown in shaving position in which the head is angularly disposed relative to the handle.

Fig. 2 is a side or end elevational view of the device shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevational view taken as on the line. III-4H of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken as on the line IVIV of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3, illustrating a variation in the head positioning means.

Fig. 6 is a' fragmentary side view with parts broken United States Patent '0 away, illustrating a further variation in the head positioning means.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side view with parts broken away for illustration showing the device in storage position withthe head and neck at right angles to the handle.

Referring now to the drawings in which the various parts are indicated by numerals, it will be seen that the invention preferably relates to equipment for use with double edge razor blades, although it is not limited thereto, and essentially incorporates a blade carrying razor head 26 and a handle 27. Razor head 26 includes an underplate 31 which is provided witha substantially flat upper surface adapted to support a razor blade 32.

Razor head 26 is provided at its opposite sides with releasable clamps 43, adapted to clampingly engage portions of a blade 32 supported on plate 31 and to be rocked to outward release position out of engagement with such supported blade to elfect release thereof, in

order to permit removal of the blade from the supportinghead.

A yoke-like member 53, carrying at its opposite sides upstanding studs 55, underlies and is seated against the under side of the central portion of plate 31 with studs 55 projecting upwardly through suitable apertures formed in plate 31. A leaf spring member 57 underlies and is seated against yoke 53 and extends from side to side of head 26, underlying plate 31. At its outer ends spring 47 bears against the underside of clamps 43. Plate 31, yoke 53. and spring 57 are centrally apertured to receive a suitable attaching member, such as screw 59, by which the parts are attached to the top of a neck 60, by which head 26 is supported for use.

Below the level of head 26, neck 60 is preferably provided with a pair of guide notches 64 which are respectively formed in the opposite sides of neck 60, and which extend from front to rear, are alined longitudinally below plate 31 and arranged in parallelism therewith. Guide notches 64 are adapted to engage cooperating guiding means, to support and guide head 26 during sliding movement thereof. Below notches 64, neck 60 is provided with a lower portion 65, the sides of which are flat and the front and rear of which merge into an arcuate lower face 66. Lower portion 65 is embraced on opposite sides by upstanding ears 67 of handle 27, lower portion 65 being connected to cars 67 as by a pin 69 for forward and rearward rocking movement. Lower face 66 is preferably formed along an arc of approximately one hundred eighty degrees formed about pin 69 as a center, and face 66 is provided with a plurality of outwardly facing recesses 71 which are preferably equally spaced apart along face 66. Below cars 67, handle 27 is chambered as at 73, the-chamber housing a compression spring member anda ball 77, ball 77 being urged outwardly of chamber 73 by spring 75 and being moved into yieldable engagement with one of recesses 71 when such recess is moved into register therewith upon rocking movement of the head and neck relative to the handle.

It will be seen that in the head and handle attachment illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, head 26 and rigidly attached neck 60 may be rocked relatively to handle 27, lower neck portion 65 moving between handle ears 67, ball 77 being depressed into chamber 73 against the action of spring 75 until a recess 71 is moved into register therewith whenthe action of spring 75 will force the-ball 77 into yielding engagement with such recess. In this manner head 26 may be positioned angularly relative to handle 27 and the selection of the position accurately indexed by the recesses 71 and the razor thus may be shifted to position a selected blade cutting edge in shaving position and retained in the selected position.

In the variation illustrated inFig. 6, neck 60 is similarly attached to ears 67 by pin 69 for rocking movement. Positioning and retention of the head and neck in position is maintained by a spring member 75A, preferably a leaf spring, one end of which is fastened to the bottom of a chamber 73A formed in the handle and the opposite end of which is fixed in a recess or slot 71A formed in arcuate face 66A, recess 71A being positioned substantially on the vertical mid-line of neck 60. It will be observed that spring 75A is of a length slightly in excess of the distance between slot 71A and the bottom of chamber 73A in rocked position of head 26 and is, therefore, kept flexed and constantly urges movement of the head toward a position of greater angularity relative to handle 27, being limited in such movement by the abutment of spring 75A against the interior of chamber 73A. It will be seen that in this variation head 26 may be rocked to effect shift to and from a position angular to handle 27, similar to the position shown in Fig. 3, from and to a position of opposite angularity in which the head will be disposed at an angle as illustrated in Fig. 6. It will further be observed that spring 75A will be effective to complete the shift of the head during such rocking movement after the head has been moved by hand just beyond alinement with handle 27.

In use of the razor of the present invention, when a change of blade is desired, clamps 43 may be moved to the outer blade release position, used blade 32 removed, a new blade 32 substituted therefor, and the clamps 43 returned to clamping position to retain the blade on the head. This action may be accomplished by hand, although it is preferable and more convenient to employ a mechanical blade changer of the type described in application Serial No. 144,278 for effecting these purposes which may include a casing.

With the blade thus positioned on head 26 the head may be positioned at a desired position of angularity relative to handle 27 by rocking the head relatively to handle 27 and pin 69, thereby effecting engagement between spring-loaded ball 77 and a selected recess 71.

It will be observed that recesses 71 are provided to enable positioning of the cutting edge of a blade 32 supported on razor head 26 at a position angular to handle 27, which is particularly desirable in the present device, which preferably is employed with double edge blades 32, since it permits the use of one cutting edge of the blade supported at an angular shaving position, and when desired the supporting head may be shifted to an opposite angular shaving position for convenient use of the opposite shaving edge. It is additionally found to be convenient to provide the additional recesses 71X, which, when engaged with spring-loaded balls 77 by further rocking movement of head 26 to neck 60 relative to handle 27, position and retain the head and neck substantially at right angles to handle 27, in the relative position indicated in Fig. 7, this position being particularly desirable for purposes of storage of the device, as in a casing such as employed with the mechanical blade changer of application, Serial No. 144,278, of which this application is a division.

In the variation shown in Fig. 5, the additional recesses 71X are omitted, as in the safety razor shown in my co-pending application, Serial No. 219,950, and in this variation the head 26 may be rocked about pin 69 to a storage position (Fig. 7) in which neck 60 is positioned substantially at right angles to handle 27, as in connection with storage of the razor. In such position ball 77 is urged by spring 75 into frictional engagement with face 66 and serves as an effective brake against undesired shift of the head relative to the handle.

It will be seen that this invention provides a razor head having rockably shiftable blade clamps pivoted to the head, preferably at the ends thereof, to overlie and engage the blade supported on the head, and including spring means urging the clamps into clamping position; and

that the razor head is attached to the handle for tilting or rocking movement relative to the handle to and from opposite storage and shaving positions of angularity relative to the handle, the arrangement including means for accurately indexing the relative angular position of head and handle particularly with respect to the opposite shaving positions.

I claim:

1. In a safety razor including a blade supporting head, a neck rigidly fixed in perpendicular relation to said head, a handle, the upper end of said handle embracing the lower portion of said neck, a pin substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said head, said pin pivotally connecting said handle upper end and neck lower portion for relative rocking movement, a substantially semi-circular arcuate extremity on said neck lower portion, the width of said neck being substantially equal to the diameter of said extremity, the edges of said neck being parallel and extending substantially tangentially away from said extremity, a ball in said handle and a spring carried by said handle urging said ball into engagement with said neck extremity, a pair of concavities formed in said extremity positioned at opposite angles of inclination from the mid-line of said neck perpendicular to said head, said concavities respectively receiving said ball on opposite rocking to index said head in angular position relative to said handle, said head being oppositely rockable beyond said indexed angular positions to storage positions in which said neck is substantially perpendicular to said handle, said ball breakingly engaging against said neck in said storage positions to impede return rocking of said head and neck from said storage positions.

2. In a safety razor including a blade supporting head, a neck rigidly fixed in perpendicular relation to said head, a handle, the upper end of said handle being cut out to form ears positioned to embrace the sides of the lower portion of said neck, a pin substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of said head, said pin pivotally connecting said ears and neck lower portion for relative rocking movement, a substantially semi-circular arcuate extremity on said neck lower portion, the width of said neck being substantially equal to the diameter of said extremity, the edges of said neck being parallel and extending substantially tangentially away from said extremity, detent means in said handle and a spring carried by said handle urging said detent means into engagement with said neck extremity, said head being oppositely rock able to storage positions in which said neck is substantially perpendicular to said handle, said detent means brakingly engaging against said neck in said storage positions to impede return rocking of said head and neck from said storage positions.

3. In a safety razor including a blade supporting head, a neck connected in perpendicular relation to said head, a handle, means pivotally connecting said handle to said neck for relative rocking movement, an arcuate extremity on the lower portion of said neck, the edges of said neck being substantially parallel and extending substantially tangentially away from said extremity, a ball in said handle and a spring carried by said handle urging said ball into engagement with said neck extremity, a pair of concavities formed in said extremity positioned at opposite angles of inclination from the midline of said neck perpendicular to said head, said concavities respectively receiving said ball on opposite rocking to index said neck in angular position relative to said handle, said neck being oppositely rockable beyond said indexed angular positions to storage positions in which said neck is substantially perpendicular to said handle, said ball brakingly engaging against said neck in said storage positions to impede return rocking of said head and neck from said storage positions.

(References on following page) References Cited in the file of this patent 1,897,982 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,119,792

576,862 Lebold Feb. 9, 1897 1,327,547 Goodwin Jan. 6, 1920 5 1,890,334 Muros Dec. 6, 1932 369,775

6 Jones Feb. 14, 1933 Parkin June 7, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Mar. 31, 1932 

